From left; Catherine Moore boat Capt. Paul Lepanto talks with visiting Korean high school students Park Jaesung and Jeong Haerang during a boat trip to the Aquaculture School's seaweed farm of Fairfield on Tuesday, December 4, 2012. less

From left; Catherine Moore boat Capt. Paul Lepanto talks with visiting Korean high school students Park Jaesung and Jeong Haerang during a boat trip to the Aquaculture School's seaweed farm of Fairfield on ... more

Her classmate, Kim Sohee, was content to sit in the captain's chair as the 57-foot research vessel sailed back toward Black Rock Harbor and the Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture School from a seaweed farm off the Fairfield coastline.

Meanwhile, Jeong Haerang and Park Jaesung, Wando sophomores, were down below, getting a look at the engine room.

Park said the Catherine Moore is much smaller than the 350-foot training vessel students at his school not only study on, but live on for days at a time. Even so, Lee Dohwan, principal of the school, said he was impressed.

The visit marks the 10-year anniversary of a partnership between Wando and Aqua. Both schools have periodically sent delegations to the other.

Wando is a school of 440 students, about 80 of whom board at the school. Most are students who want to pursue careers in the commercial fishing industry.

The underwater farm the visitors were shown is relatively new. Marked by a long line of buoys and four yellow markers, the farm is run in conjunction with the University of Connecticut and is growing BRASTEC sugar kelp, or brown seaweed.

The kelp is seeded in school labs under UConn's direction, then suspended all winter on lines under the buoys, where the plants grow 13 to 14 feet long. Commonly used in sushi wraps, the kelp will be sold at Angie's, the student-run fish market.

"We set it out sometime in December and it is harvestable by mid-April," said John Curtis, director of the Aquaculture school.

Kirk Shadle, a teacher at Aqua who visited Wando seven years ago, told the visitors the vessel they were on is used by all students at the school.

It has a remote vehicle equipped with a camera that allows students to see what is happening on the floor of the Sound from an on-board, wide-screen monitor.

The South Korean passengers, however, seemed more impressed with a pair of hand-held binoculars that gave them a close-up look at monk parakeets perched in trees along the shoreline, as well as a number of hurricane-damaged cottages at the water's edge.

The students spoke little English. Kim Minhyeong, a teacher and translator for the visitors, said they knew more English than they let on but were shy.

"We were impressed by the creativity of the American students," Kim said, translating for the principal.

Earlier in the day, the visitors toured the aquaculture school and followed students in a senior research class through their morning schedules.

The American students had downloaded translator apps onto their smartphones to help with conversations. The students found they had a lot in common.

Erica Scott, an Aqua student from Stratford, wanted to know how the South Koreans spent their weekends. Karim Kharbouch of Bridgeport was curious about what brand of cellphones they had.

"The first thing the girls asked us is if we had boyfriends," said Julia Elstein, a senior from Trumbull.

Kim Sohee also broke into a soft-spoken English when she admitted a fondness for steak, not just seafood.

"And pizza," she said.

A number of times during the visit to the school, Sohee sat texting and sending snapshots to friends back in South Korea.

After their day at the school, Curtis took the visitors to the Trumbull Mall, where he said they bought about 70 key chains to take back to their school as souvenirs.